This event, in association with the PSA’s Total Exposure intiative, and chaired by Professor Rosie Campbell, Vice Chair of the PSA, will feature a screening of Requiem for the American Dream (PF Pictures, 2015) followed by a discussion of the themes explored in the film led by Dr Clodagh Harrington (Senior Lecturer in Politics, De Montfort University and Chair, American Politics Specialist Group, PSA) and Dr Alex Waddan (Associate Professor in American Politics and American Foreign Policy, University of Leicester).

Requiem for the American Dream is the definitive discourse with Noam Chomsky, widely regarded as one of the most important intellectuals alive, on the defining characteristic of our time – the deliberate concentration of wealth and power in the hands of a select few.

Through interviews filmed over four years, Chomsky unpacks the principles that have brought us to the crossroads of historically unprecedented inequality – tracing a half-century of policies designed to favour the most wealthy at the expense of the majority – while also looking back on his own life of activism and political participation.

Profoundly personal and thought provoking, Chomsky provides penetrating insight into what may well be the lasting legacy of our time – the death of the middle class, and swan song of functioning democracy. A potent reminder that power ultimately rests in the hands of the governed, Requiem is required viewing for all who maintain hope in a shared stake in the future.